I'm DMing 2 Pathfinder campaigns, but I really don't like Pathfinder that much. It's just that everybody here wants to play Pathfinder. (That and the adventurepaths are really nice.) I had some time to think about what I don't like about RPGs and it comes down to this.

- I don't like classbased systems. (Especially if they make thousands of options)
- I don't like the way abilities are handled in D&D 3rd and 4th edition and Pathfinder. You could get rid of ability scores pretty easily and just use ability modifiers instead.
- I don't like a long list of skills on my sheet that I can't use anyway.
- I don't like it when I have to roll a ranged touched attack, the target has to roll a save, I have to roll a casterlevel check to see if I get through spell resistance, and when I finally succeed having to roll damage to have most of it ignored by energy resistance.
- I don't like to teach new players Pathfinder.
- I'd like battles to be faster.

I'm sorry for that rant, but it's just that this train of thought leads to a brilliant idea:

Why don't we just write down the descriptors we want on our sheets, and not everything we don't need.
So if you want to play a thief, just write down thief, assign a bonus and your done. Does a thief need strength? No? Than you don't write it down, and if it ever comes up we'll assume your strength is average.
This allows players to just make up their own specialties, so instead of a wizard, you could be a pyromancer, or a shadowcaster.

Now this is the basic idea, but I need to work this out. I based this largely on my own experience with Marvel Universe RPG, and some stuff from XDM. Can anyone help me build a system around this?

erikun

2014-02-02, 04:15 PM

It sounds a lot like you want Fate (http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core/) or the HeroQuest RPG (not available online) rather than putting together an entirely new system that does somewhat the same thing. Are you familiar with either of these systems?

Note that players may still be disinclined to change systems, regardless of what the new system is.

Grod_The_Giant

2014-02-02, 04:55 PM

It sounds a lot like you want Fate (http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core/) or the HeroQuest RPG (not available online) rather than putting together an entirely new system that does somewhat the same thing. Are you familiar with either of these systems?

Note that players may still be disinclined to change systems, regardless of what the new system is.
FATE is much more complicated than that. I mean, it's not as dense as D&D or a White Wolf game or something like that, but it's still pretty hefty, and has a pretty idiosyncratic way of "simulating" things that rubs a lot of people the wrong way, and it can be hard to transition from D&D-style games to FATE.

Pretty sure the described method is pretty much exactly how Risus (http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/risus.htm)works, though. I'd also suggest my homebrew system, STaRS, which is simple, classless, and doesn't really have skills.

Knaight

2014-02-03, 02:40 AM

I had some time to think about what I don't like about RPGs and it comes down to this.

- I don't like classbased systems. (Especially if they make thousands of options)
- I don't like the way abilities are handled in D&D 3rd and 4th edition and Pathfinder. You could get rid of ability scores pretty easily and just use ability modifiers instead.
- I don't like a long list of skills on my sheet that I can't use anyway.
- I don't like it when I have to roll a ranged touched attack, the target has to roll a save, I have to roll a casterlevel check to see if I get through spell resistance, and when I finally succeed having to roll damage to have most of it ignored by energy resistance.
- I don't like to teach new players Pathfinder.
- I'd like battles to be faster.
There are a lot of RPGs that meet all of your requirements. Classes are a bit of a D&D idiosyncrasy, and are relatively uncommon outside of D&D. The whole ability score/ability modifier thing is even more of an idiosyncrasy. As for skills, there's heavy variation, though plenty of games have much longer skill lists than D&D. Fewer rolls are also common, easier to teach games common, and as far as combat goes D&D drags it out very far - there are games that take even longer (Rolemaster, Mechwarrior), but far more that are lighter.

In short, I would strongly recommend looking into other RPGs before building something from scratch. This has been done. Fate Accelerated Edition would work for this, Barbarians of Lemuria would work for this, Risus works perfectly for this, Fudge could be made to work for this, etc.

That said, PDQ and Risus in particular stand out as exactly what you want here. The PDQ core system is 13 pages, and Risus isn't much longer. Those almost certainly do what you want, and as such making something to cover it isn't necessary.

TripleD

2014-02-03, 12:31 PM

Never played it myself, but I've heard good things about "Barebones RPG":

http://dwdstudios.com/barebones

mikeejimbo

2014-02-03, 02:00 PM

Depending on the mood you're going for, Wushu (http:// http://danielbayn.com/wushu/) could do it.